


Ambit

by TheAwkwardStar



Series: Underswap AU [1]
Category: Underswap AU - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underswap, Gasterblaster AU, Gen, Involves lots of crying from everywhere and nowhere, Underswap Alphys - Freeform, Underswap Asgore, Underswap Chara - Freeform, Underswap Frisk - Freeform, Underswap Muffet, Underswap Papyrus, Underswap Sans, Underswap Temmie - Freeform, Underswap Undyne - Freeform, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-09-18 00:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9352679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAwkwardStar/pseuds/TheAwkwardStar
Summary: You decide to spend some time with the skeleton brothers during your first run. You're a little afraid to meet Alphys just yet, which makes perfect sense. She's always had a temper.But when things start to go wrong with the brothers, it seems like you don't have much of a choice anymore....You want to help, but at what cost?





	1. The Fallen Human

_….You’ve fallen down, haven’t you?_

You opened your eyes.

…How were you alive?

The fall should’ve killed you instantly. You were sure of it. Or maybe this was what heaven looked like?

…You doubted you would even have the right to be in such a place. You weren’t good. No one had ever told you otherwise.

You touched your face, realizing that it felt awfully wet. When you brought it back down, you saw water mixed in with a bit of blood.

…You don’t remember crying. Or, more importantly, _bleeding._

“Howdy!”

You jumped, stifling a scream. You looked around for the source of the sound until your eyes fell upon a small, cat-like creature with long hair and a striped shirt. He smiled at you.

“Hee hee! Sorry for scaring you!” he winked. “I’m Temmie!”

He started walking towards you. You backed away slightly. He sat down a few inches away from you and tilted his head.

“Gosh, you look like you had a pretty nasty fall!”

You placed a hand on your forehead. Looking down at your hands, you saw even more blood.

…Well, that explained that.

“It doesn’t look so bad!” Temmie chirped. “You’ll be just fine.”

“…But of course, you’re probably really confused right now! Well, don’t you worry!” Temmie’s smile stretched out a little more. “I’m going to help you!”

The moment you blinked, everything had turned black and white. The only source of light and color was coming from your chest. When you looked down, you saw a tiny, heart-shaped thing floating in front of you. You’d never seen something so beautiful before.

“Do you know what that is?” Temmie giggled as you continued to stare at the heart in awe.

“That is your SOUL. The very culmination of your being!”

“Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV.”

You furrowed your brows in confusion.

“What does LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!” Temmie continued to smile. “You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry!” he stood up.

“I’ll share some with you!”

Temmie wagged his tail. “Down here, LOVE is shared through…”

Tiny shapes began to form around the small cat.

“Little white…‘friendliness flakes’!”

“Move around!” Temmie’s body jittered excitedly. “Get as many as you can!”

Cautiously, you reached your hand out to touch one of the flakes. It seemed harmless enough at first, and yet…

It **hurt.**

You gasped in shock as the flakes suddenly accelerated and pierced into your soul. The pain was indescribable. You collapsed onto the cold ground. You pushed yourself up with your hands and tried crawling away, but you were blocked by more flakes and a white set of…arms???

You turned your head slightly, fearful of the creature that had attacked you. Temmie stood on two legs while the arms were stretched abnormally long.

“Hee hee, WOW!” Temmie’s jittering increased. “You’re such an idiot! I can’t believe you fell for such an obvious trap!”

His smile warped into a menacing sneer with sharp fangs.

“…In this world, it’s kill or be killed.”

**“…DIE.”**

The flakes surrounded you, spinning around in circles as they got closer and closer to your soul. You had no way to defend yourself. You were _trapped,_ and it was your own fault. Temmie cackled maniacally, reveling in his success. You closed your eyes, expecting death to come very soon.

Just before he could deal the finishing blow, you heard Temmie let out a pained cry. Slowly, you opened one eye to see what had happened.

In his place was a large figure, towering high above you. You gradually lifted your head up until you looked into the face of a goat. He had white fur, sharp horns, and flowing golden hair that resembled a mane. His outfit was rather curious; a purple robe of sorts that had a peculiar symbol in the center of his chest.

You suddenly felt very queasy.

“What a terrible creature, attacking such a poor, innocent youth…”

You started to tremble. Was this monster going to hurt you too?

He noticed how afraid you looked, then smiled warmly and kneeled down to face you.

“Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am ASGORE, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down.” He placed a hand on his beard thoughtfully.

“…You are the first human to come down here in a long time…”

You brought your legs up to your mouth and wrapped your arms around them, trying to look smaller than you already were. Perhaps if you sunk deeper into yourself, you could finally disappear.

Asgore gave you a sad look. You could see the sympathy in his eyes.

…No one had really looked at you that way before. But you still couldn’t bring yourself to trust it.

He slowly extended a massive hand towards you. You flinched, afraid that he was going to use it to strike you.

…But he didn’t. All he did was smile and wait patiently.

“Please do not be scared, child. I will not harm you. I only want to help.”

Asgore looked to the side. “Your expression…it reminds me of someone else I knew long ago….” He shook his head. “I promise I will keep you safe, my child.”

“…Would you like to come with me?”

You dropped your arms, bringing your knees down a little as well. Hesitantly, you reached up and took his hand.

He helped you stand up and grinned, showing his teeth.

“I shall guide you through the catacombs, then.”

You followed Asgore as he held your hand with no force at all. His was fluffy, soft, and generally pleasant to feel. Yours, on the other hand, was filthy and calloused. He didn’t seem to mind.

“What is your name?” He asked calmly.

You breathed in shakily. You never liked your name very much, but it was all you had.

It was the only thing _they_ ever gave you.

You looked up at him, slightly reassured by how nice he was to you. You opened your mouth to speak.

_“…My name is….”_

…

“….CHARA!!!”

You body shot up from the couch. You moved wildly enough to tumble off and hit the ground face-first. You rubbed your nose as you sat up, grunting a little in irritation.

Your anger quickly subsided when you spotted a short skeleton, marching towards you with vigor. He was wearing a white apron with the words 'Kiss the Cook’ stitched onto it. He was also carrying a spatula.

“Goodness! You’re even _worse_ than Papyrus when I call for you!!!”

You yawned, scratching your head. “…How long was I out?”

The skeleton huffed. “Long enough. I called for you…SIX TIMES!!!” He showed the number with his fingers to emphasize his point.

You snickered. “Sorry. I guess I was just a little… _bone-_ tired.”

“UGH!!!” He waved his tiny fists into the air. “UNBELIEVABLE!!! I can’t believe that you used one of my brother’s horrible puns! And one involving BONES, no less!”  


You started to laugh hysterically at his tiny fit as he stormed out of the living room.

“W-wait, Sans, come back!” You got up from the floor and doubled over for a second as your laughter gradually shifted into hiccups. Once you stopped, you joined him in the kitchen as he went back to the stove. You watched as Sans began flipping the pancakes he’d been cooking for breakfast. You were pretty sure that they wouldn’t turn out as good as they appeared to be, but there were times when he surprised you and his sibling.

Sans’ brother Papyrus, on the other hand, seemed to have a much better idea on how food and cooking worked. Unfortunately, he was so lazy that the times he agreed to cook instead were rare. It didn’t stop you from looking forward to those days, no matter how erratic they were.

“Hey, where is Papyrus?”

Sans glanced back at you. “Oh, he’s probably still napping. You know how he is.”

You grinned. “…Yeah. I do.”

You had been living in the house of the skeleton brothers for nearly three weeks now. You grew quickly accustomed to how things worked in their house, as well as the crazy shenanigans they occasionally got into. You recalled one particular day where Undyne came to visit. Papyrus had pranked her with a cleverly hidden trap at the front door. The moment she took a step inside, she’d smacked right into a thin cover of plastic wrap. It didn’t take long for her to end up wrapped in the stuff like a present or a captive bug in a spider’s web. The only one who hadn’t laughed was Sans, while you and Papyrus couldn’t stop.

Thinking about how silly Undyne looked made you smile a little more.

“Come to think of it…” Sans muttered. You turned your attention to him again. “…He HAS been asleep longer than usual…”

Sans tapped his foot, deep in thought.

“…Human!!!” He shoved the spatula into your hands. “Stay here and guard the pancakes! I will go check on my brother.”

Sans bolted upstairs. You looked down at the small pan. You could already tell that the pancakes were partially burned. You leaned forward and turned off the stove. You gave yourself a pat on the back for rescuing the food before it was inedible.

You turned around, then immediately tensed up. There was a black silhouette of someone, staring back at you. They seemed to be about the same size and figure as you.

They waved.

…You gripped the spatula tightly in your hands.

You blinked again, and they were gone.

It was the fifth time you had seen them. They were always quiet, saying absolutely nothing to you.

All they ever did…was observe.

It was creepy. But there was nothing you could do about it. They had shown up shortly after your encounter with Temmie. They watched as you went through all of the Ruins, along with…

…You didn’t want to think about that.

You considered telling the brothers about the strange person that always followed you, but you could never muster up enough courage to do it.

They were the first friends you had ever made. If they thought you were too weird…would they abandon you like everyone else did?

That thought alone made you keep your mouth shut. It would be better if they never knew…right?

You heard Sans’ footsteps as he came back down the stairs. He hopped off of the last step, then looked at you with a perplexed expression.

“…Odd. He wasn’t in his room.”

“Maybe he went for a walk?” You suggested.

Sans shook his head. “…No, I definitely woke up before him. I tried waking him up then, but he was just as stubborn as you were.”

“I swear, if he used another one of his 'shortcuts’ to go eat at Muffet’s instead…” Sans crossed his arms. You could tell he was more worried than frustrated.

“…Maybe we can go look for him together?”

Sans’ eye sockets widened.

“That…could work!” Sans smiled. “If the two of us look together, we’ll be able to find him in half the time!”

You nodded in agreement.

“Then it’s settled!” Sans headed for the door as you followed closely behind. “We will find my brother, make sure he is fine, THEN I will reprimand him for skipping breakfast!”

“Technically, we did too.”

“Details later!” Sans waved his hand dismissively. “Right now we are searching!”

Sans kicked the door open and charged through the snow. You chased after him to the best of your ability, but he was ridiculously fast for such a short skeleton.

As you ran, you couldn’t help but wonder where Papyrus had gone off to.


	2. Something's Amiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Sans are on a quest to find Papyrus. Just where could that lazybones be? 
> 
> The answer may be harder to find than you think.

"I can slow down if you want me to, human!"

You gradually slowed down to a stop, panting heavily as Sans halted a few feet away. The yelling was a bit excessive; you really weren't that far from him. But you appreciated his concern nonetheless. He walked towards you and smiled.

"There's no need to push yourself more than you are able. If you wanted to walk instead, you could've just asked!"

"I know," you said, then quickly shook your head. "But finding Papyrus is more important."

"...I can tell that it's bothering you."

Sans rubbed his head. "It only bothers me because...well, he ALWAYS tells me where he's going! Err, perhaps not always, actually...but it is very frequent!"

"...It's the one thing that he never hides, that's for sure...." he muttered.

"What?"

Sans' eye sockets widened. "Oh, I didn't mean to say that out loud!" he waved his hands in front of you. "I just...."

He frowned. "...Papyrus is quite a mystery, even to me. There are so many things he never told me and I had to discover for myself."

You felt your chest tighten.

"We are so close, and yet...it always feels like there is some sort of wall between us. Why that is, I do not know."

Sans' expresson seemed almost solemn for a moment. He sighed and looked at you with a reassuring grin.

"...But it's okay! He's probably just trying to keep me safe! Although, I don't believe I need any protecting at all." His eyes lit up with tiny star shapes. "I mean, I'm the Magnificent Sans! I can do anything if I put my mind to it!"

You nodded in agreement. "That's the spirit!"

"...To be honest, I think that Papyrus is lucky to have a cool brother like you." You looked up at the white sky.

"...I sure wish I did."

Sans beamed at you. "Oh, you are so sweet!" He hugged you tightly, catching you off-guard.

"And you don't even _need_ to worry about such a thing! You, me, and Papyrus could be practically siblings at this point!"

You went a little pale. "...Y....you're serious?!?"

"The Magnificent Sans is ALWAYS serious about such important matters!!!" He released you and took your hands. "You are more than welcome to become an honorary skeleton brother, human! And I'm positive that Papyrus would agree!"

Your lips quivered. "You...you really think so...?"

 _"Yes."_ Sans nodded sharply, squeezing your hands. "...But of course, I would not force you to do something like this so soon! So I will give you time to think about it and decide if that is what you want."

"What I want...." you mumbled. No one had ever asked you what you wanted before.

...What _did_ you want?

"Just think it through while we continue to search, human. Now then..." Sans pointed in the other direction.

"ONWARD! TO FIND PAPYRUS!!!"

***

"Ugh. How utterly _dull."_

Temmie watched with disgust and irritation as the small child encouraged and even _allowed_ the skeleton to give them a hug. He stuck his tongue out at the two, despite the fact that they couldn't see him from where he was hiding.

Temmie plopped onto the snow, staring upwards blankly as snowflakes hit his nose.

"...Why did they have to look like you?"

Temmie sighed and sat up, seeing the pair get further and further away until they were tiny dots of color amidst all the snow.

"...Hmph. I do wonder where that trashbag of a brother is, though. It's not like him to be gone for so long..."

"Maybe he finally ended his miserable life. That would be fun to see." Temmie smiled a little. He didn't seem to care that he was only talking to himself.

"I think I'll investigate, too."

***

You and Sans had been looking for hours by now. And yet...no matter how many people you both asked, or how many places you checked, Papyrus was simply nowhere to be found.

Nowhere, except for maybe the one area you were avoiding.

"Waterfall isn't where Alphys lives, human," Sans commented. "She actually lives in Hotland! It just so happens that her main base of operations is here. The Royal Guard isn't quite fond of the heat, apparently..."

Sans scoffed. "Well, if it were me, I wouldn't question Alphys for even a moment! And being a skeleton and all, temperature doesn't really bother me!"

"Don't you do that as a sentry, though?" you inquired.

"Of course! But that is different. I don't have a really cool suit of armor!"

"...I do hope I get one someday..."

You were about to say something until you were suddenly interrupted by a strange sound.

...The sound of _metal,_ slamming into the ground loudly.

You gasped and grabbed Sans' arm.

"S-Sans...is it...."

He saw your terrified expression and pulled you behind him. Sans scanned the area for a good hiding spot.

"Don't worry, human. I won't let her see you yet. Not until I tell her what a wonderful person you are!"

You smiled a little. It was nice to know that he wasn't going to throw you under the bus.

"Hmm...." Sans looked for a while longer, then abruptly let out a tiny "Ah!". He took you to a small boulder.

"Quick! Behind this conveniently-shaped rock!"

Sans pushed you down gently. Unless someone was looking from the opposite side, you were practically invisible.

The rock certainly was a convenient shape.

Sans looked down at you for a moment and gave you a thumbs up, then quickly stopped once the clanging footsteps grew louder.

A few seconds passed, then it became completely silent.

You watched as Sans waved at the new monster in the clearing. She was about the same size as him, but had definitely been through many more scrapes. A large, jagged cut sliced through one of her eyes, so she clearly couldn't see through it anymore. Her working eye had a piercing gaze, strong enough to strike fear into the hearts of people who dared to challenge her. Her armor gleamed in the light blue hues of Waterfall, as well as her mighty axe that she carried quite easily on her shoulder.

"Hello, Alphys!!!" Sans shouted. You could tell that he was just barely containing his excitement.

She _was_ everything that he aspired to be, after all.

Alphys grinned. "Hey, Sans!"

She began to approach. You crouched a little lower until your back started to hurt. Once she was right in front of him, she gave Sans a friendly punch on the shoulder.

"How's my favorite sentry?" Alphys chuckled as he rubbed his arm.

Sans' face lit up. "Mweh heh! I'm doing great! I even cooked pancakes successfully today! Do you want any?"

Alphys laughed. "I already ate, but that's good to hear!" She placed a hand on her hip. "You sound like you're having a lot more fun than I am."

"Oh? Why is that?" Sans stared at her with wide, curious eyes.

"Well..." Alphys breathed out sharply. "...We've been recieving a lot of complaints today. And I mean, a LOT. _Way_ more than usual."

"I've heard almost everything by now. Destruction of property, noise complaints, robbery, break-ins, _littering...._ you name it. The paperwork just keeps coming in, and I don't know how much more the dogs can take before they go on strike."

She pursed her lips. "...The weirdest part about all this is that nearly all of the complaints keep coming from here or Hotland. I just can't wrap my head around it..."

Sans placed a hand under his chin.

"...All of that is very strange."

Alphys sighed and sat down on the floor. "I know. And it SUCKS!!!" She slammed her fist into the ground.

"Nobody knows what's going on, and there's nothing I can do about it because I don't know either!!!" She huffed.

"Heck, there was even a report claiming that there was an unfamiliar giant monster roaming around!!! Maybe _that's_ the source of this whole mess!!!"

"...A giant monster?"

"Yeah, that's what I said!" Alphys glanced at him, then raised an eyebrow. Sans seemed to be deep in thought. The lights in his eyes were unfocused.

"Hey, Sans!" Alphys clapped her hands together, snapping him back to attention.

"What's up with you? You seem kinda out of it."

He shook his head. "I...I'm okay! I must have zoned out for a moment."

"By the way, have you seen Papyrus?"

"You mean your brother?" She scratched her head, then frowned. "...Right, the slacker. Nope! I would've knocked him out of his chair already for sleeping at his _station."_

Sans shrugged. "He does do that quite a lot! But still..." he reached up and rubbed his arm. "...I haven't seen him since this morning, and I'm starting to get very worried. He does leave without telling me on occasion, but it's never been _this_ long before..."

Alphys gritted her teeth. It looked like she wanted to say something vulgar, but she held back for Sans' sake.

"...I'm sure he'll be back." She got up from the ground and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just relax. Everything will be _fine."_ She grinned. "...And if he makes you worry any more than you already are, I'll kick his teeth out for you!"

Sans smiled nervously. "I appreciate the sentiment, but please do not do that."

Alphys laughed. "I'm just kidding! I'll still be mad at him for it, though."

Sans eye sockets widened. "Oh! And also!" he placed his thumb on his chest. "I made _another_ fascinating discovery today!"

"What is it?" Alpyhs looked at him with an amused expression.

"...I discovered...that the human who fell down here is very nice!!!"

Her smile faded almost instantly. Sans was starting to look anxious.

"...They really do mean well, Alphys! I've met them!"

"They don't want to hurt anyone!"

Alphys crossed her arms. "...Sans..."

"I'm serious! If you could just speak with them instead of killing them right on the spot, you would....you would..."

Sans' grin faltered.

"...You don't believe me, do you?"

Alphys sighed, shaking her head. "...Look. I know that you don't like violence. If anything, it's incredibly noble of you."

"But you also know as well as I do that we can't just let a human go. We already have six souls. We _need_ the seventh."

She threw the axe onto her shoulder again. Her expression was stern.

"If you see the human again, tell me right away. Don't go hiding them away from me, okay?"

"But I...."

 _"SANS."_ She gripped the handle of her axe tightly. _"Please._ Do it for us. Our _people."_

"...We can't afford to lose more hope."

Sans shifted his feet uncomfortably under her stony gaze.

"...I know this is hard for you, so I'll give you some time to think about it." Alphys smiled a little and patted him on the back.

" And cheer up! It'll all work out in the end."

Sans nodded and grinned at her as she started to walk away. Once she was out of sight, his smile faded.

"You can come out now, human."

You stepped out from behind the rock and headed towards Sans. He seemed to be avoiding your eyes.

You grabbed your arm. "...I heard everything."

"I know." Sans glanced at you. He seemed very upset.

"I'm really sorry that it didn't work out."

The two of you stood in silence for a few moments. Neither of you were quite sure what to say.

After all, what was there to say?

...It appeared that a battle with Alphys was inevitable. The more you told yourself that, the easier it was to accept.

You would just have to become better at dodging.

You smiled. "...It'll be okay! I'll figure something out!"

"...It's not like I was doing that bad before I met you and Papyrus."

Sans placed a hand on his forehead.

"Papyrus!!! We should be looking for him!" He turned towards you. "We can't just stand here moping around! What was I thinking?!?"

Sans straightened his posture, looking a bit more confident.

"If you can find a positive in all this, then so can I!" He grinned. "Let's keep searching!"

"...And I know _exactly_ where to go next!!!"

***

_"...'Sup, Muffet."_

_The spider monster peered up from her her work. She had just finshed wiping the last few droplets of water on a glass cup._

_She set it down in front of him, gazing at her best customer wordlessly. He was obscuring most of his face with his hoodie. He pulled it a bit lower when he realized she was staring at him._

_"...The usual, as always."_

_Muffet pulled out a bottle of honey from under the counter and pushed it towards him with a finger._

_"Thanks." He grabbed the bottle and brought it up to his mouth. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of his hands._

_They were...longer than she remembered. The tips almost seemed to be sharp. His other hand made a strange clacking noise against the table as he set each finger down._

_**Tap, tap, tap.** _

_She ignored it, for the most part. Considering how wild the rest of her regulars could be, this noise was nothing._

_...What bothered her most about it was that each movement of his finger was deliberate. Forced. Almost anxious. Perhaps he was unaware of how tense he truly looked. His back and shoulders were hunched unusually low, as if her were drawing into himself._

_As much as it would have appeased her to ask, she felt that it was not her place. Even if they were friends, she was still the café owner. Some things were simply better left unsaid._

_But his guarded posture...it worried her._

_"...Welp." He put the bottle of honey down. "I should go. Don't wanna be late to my station, after all. Sans might start nagging me again." He chuckled._

_He rose from his seat, burying his hands into his pockets. He turned around and started heading for the door._

_"...Papyrus."_

_The tall, lanky skeleton stopped, glancing in her direction._

_"...Stay safe, my friend."_

_He turned back, saying nothing in response. As he opened the door and a gust of wind hit him, she swore she could see something white move from underneath his large sweater._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, part two! I'm on a roll!


	3. Unecessary Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you talk to a spider, Sans gets a funny feeling, then Alphys and Temmie have a little scare.
> 
> And a strange monster is hiding somewhere...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might be a little longer than the other two. Which is a good thing!

_Ding!_

Muffet lifted her head up from her work. In came Sans, followed by what seemed to be...

...A human.

Huh.

She wiped some liquid off of the counter. She wasn't surprised by it at all. That little skeleton always tried to become friends with whoever he met.

Sans reached the counter and hopped onto the chair to level his own height with hers.

"Hello, Muffet!" He grinned. "Have you seen my broth-"

She raised a finger to stop him from speaking. It worked, surprisingly. Usually he wouldn't stop talking. Muffet took the cloth with her through the kitchen door, then came back out and rested her six arms on the counter. She motioned for him to continue.

Sans breathed out, as if he was holding his breath beforehand. "...Muffet, have you seen him?"

Muffet pulled out a spider donut and offered one to him.

"Oh! No thank you. I'm not a fan of sweets like Papyrus is. Or any form of junk food, to be honest."

Muffet raised an eyebrow. He covered his mouth and gasped.

"N-not that your food is junk! Your cafe is very lovely! I just don't like eating stuff like this."

He sighed. "That doesn't sound much better...."

She smiled a little. "Ah hu hu! Sans, you musn't worry so much. I know you prefer cooking your own food."

"...But if you really want to know, all I can tell you is that he came here earlier."

"REALLY?!?" Sans slammed his hands on the counter. "Where on earth is he now, then???"

"I don't know." Muffet shrugged. "He left just as quickly as he came. Although..."

"What is it?" Sans asked.

"...He was acting very strangely. He wouldn't let me see his face." She tapped her fingers on the table. "...And he kept doing this."

"He didn't crack a joke. In fact, he hardly spoke to me at all."

You listened to the conversation between Sans and Muffet. From what she was saying about Papyrus, you could tell that something was very wrong.

"...That's not like him..." Sans echoed your thoughts.

"I know it isn't." Muffet sighed.

"Are you sure that you have no idea where he's going?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sans. At this point, your guess is as good as mine."

Sans rubbed his head, thinking about any places that Papyrus could possibly be.

_"...Hmm... . . ."_

***

Temmie was getting annoyed. There were no traces of the skeleton, not even his dust in case he did die. The Underground was small, so how was it possible for him to hide so well?

It made no sense. Everything had been predictable so far (besides the human spending more time with the skeletons, but he didn't care about that right now). What was so different about this timeline?

It wasn't that special. It couldn't be. Even though he lost control over this world, how could one measly human change how it functioned so drastically when they were unaware of the power they possessed?

_**~~. N o -~~ ** _

Temmie yelped in alarm. A static sound had momentarily blasted into his ears. He scanned the area frantically for the source.

**~~_. nn o t - e m_ ~~ **

Temmie gritted his teeth angrily. The noise sounded like a scrambled mess of words and incoherent sentences. It made his head throb.

~~**_a a n 't s t o. - n oo t - m._ ** ~~ __

**_"ENOUGH!!!"_** Temmie's face distorted, his mouth looking much larger than it was supposed to as his showed a set a jagged teeth.

_**"If you're not going to say anything that makes sense, don't talk at all!!!"** _

The static noise faded. Temmie pouted, sticking his tail up in the air as he turned around. He suddenly went rigid.

There was someone standing in front of him.

They were short. It looked as though they had been bleached of all color, with nothing but dull shades of gray, black, and white. They wore a labcoat and lacked any arms whatsoever. When he focused a little more, it seemed like they were glitching in and out of existence. They stared blankly forward at nothing. Right through him, as if _he_ didn't exist.

They reminded him of someone he wanted to forget.

The strange monster tilted its head in a curious manner, as if it were trying to figure out what Temmie was.

"...Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me like a creep? Or actually _talk?!?"_ He spat.

"...After what I heard earlier, though...I doubt we can understand each other."

The monster remained silent, boring its glazed eyes into him. Temmie was starting to get impatient.

"...You're boring." Temmie stood up, forming a barrage of flakes around his body.

_"I'm tired of waiting. **Get out of my way."**_

The flakes flew past him and towards the monster, as fast as bullets. The monster's head went straight again as it stared at the attack.

The flakes phased right through it.

"Wha...." Temmie started to sweat as the monster glared vacantly at him. He scrambled backwards when it began walking towards him.

 _"S-stay back!"_ Temmie hissed. _"I'm warning you!!!"_

The monster stopped, inches away from him. It leaned in and started to whisper something.

~~_**" i. g. - a. ke. n. o. - hu m.... . . . .-"** _ ~~

The monster's head dropped for a second. Before Temmie could even consider leaving, their head swung back up. It almost looked _conscious._

~~_**"....IT'S NOT THEM."** _ ~~

The monster let out an unearthly screech, forcing Temmie to shove his paws into his ears so he wouldn't go deaf. He shut his eyes tightly, waiting for it to stop.

It ended almost abruptly. Temmie opened his eyes a little, only to discover that the odd creature had vanished.

"...Who WAS that???" Temmie exclaimed. "And why did they look like...."

Temmie shook his head. He ran off in a random direction, not really caring where he was going anymore.

He'd had enough excitement for one day.

***

_"DOGGO!!!"_

The half-asleep dog monster slammed his snout on the table. He yelped in alarm and leaped over the counter of his sentry station.

"Captain Alphys, SIR!" He saluted.

Alphys pulled the dog treat out of his mouth. "...Status report. How big is the problem we're dealing with?"

"Umm..." Doggo scratched his head. "We...haven't seen it up close, but whatever is running around, causing all sorts of trouble...."

He tugged at his armor, then pulled out a small photo from inside it. The picture showed a gigantic footprint engraved in a patch of snow.

"...It might not be the _best_ idea to confront it."

Alphys snorted. "I don't care _how_ big it is. I'm bringing this monster to justice, whether they like or not!!!"

"...Tell me where the tracks lead."

"But, Captain!" Doggo said. "The creature is in _Snowdin._ You don't do well in cold weather!"

"Do you really think I _give a damn?!?"_ Alphys threw her axe to the ground, nearly slicing off Doggo's tail. He yanked it away just in time.

"I'm taking that thing down before it causes any more damage! And if you guys are too cowardly to help, I'll be more than happy to do it myself!!!"

"We'll help you search! We already have its scent."

Doggo rubbed his arm. "We're just...worried about you. You've been more stressed out than any of us, and I doubt the cold weather would do you any good..."

Her gaze softened. "...Look. I know that I can get pretty wound up sometimes. But we have to do _something_. Who knows what that thing is going to do next?"

Alphys rubbed her forehead. "...We don't even know what it looks like, after all this time..."

Doggo placed a hand on her shoulder and grinned.

"Don't worry! We'll get the creature. We already know where it is, after all. Dogamy and Dogaressa are waiting over in Snowdin for you, too. Heck, Greater Dog and Lesser Dog are trying to sniff it out!"

She chuckled. "Thanks for the confidence boost."

"...NOW LET'S MOVE OUT!!!"

***

Alphys approached the dog couple, with Doggo following behind. She had to admit; the cold was making her a little uncomfortable. But she would take a slight chill over an innocent bystander getting hurt any day.

 _...No one_ was going to get hurt. Not as long as she was around.

"Any news on the monster?" Alphys inquired. She crossed her arms as Dogamy and Dogaressa looked at each other with worried expressions.

Dogamy cleared his throat. "...Greater Dog came back and told us the trail he was following died. No tracks, no scent, no nothing. But he did find a new one further away from here."

"The creature's tracks restarted miles away from where it had started. It was almost as if it.... _disappeared,"_ Dogaressa added.

"Disappeared?" Alphys stared at them in disbelief. "...No monster I know can just vanish then show up wherever it wants. Are you two sure?"

They nodded in unison.

"There's no other explanation for it." Dogamy shrugged.

 _"Fantastic."_ Alphys turned her head to the forest. "...As if my job wasn't hard enough."

"...Let's start searching before it gets dark."

Alphys entered the thick forest. The dogs treaded carefully on either side of her, vigilant and alert for any indications of danger. She tightened her grip on her axe as the sounds of nature were muted by the trees towering above them.

All she could hear was her own breathing. The sound of silence was overpowering, hanging thickly in the air. Alphys signaled at Greater Dog with her finger. He went to the front of the group and aimed his shield forward. Lesser Dog pulled out a set of knives from his belt.

There was a bit of rustling from one side. Alphys raised her hand to stop the group.

"...Stay here. I'm going to get a little closer," She whispered.

She walked past Greater Dog, but was tugged back. He whimpered as he held onto Alphys' shoulder.

"Calm down, GD. I'll be _fine."_ She pulled away and headed towards the spot where the faint rustling could still be heard. Alphys held her axe out in front of her and pushed some of the bushes to get through.

The rustling stopped abruptly. As she inched forward, she could hear a strange noise. It almost sounded like...growling. She felt tense.

Hesitantly, she moved forward and passed by a few trees that were especially large. She froze up when she saw what was in the clearing.

It was some sort of skeletal beast, standing on all fours. Any taller and it would have been visible from above the trees. Its clawed phalanges dug into the snow to support itself. Its teeth were razor sharp, and several points of its body had spikes. The largest stuck out from its spine and moved whenever the creature did. Once it caught sight of her, it hissed and began to crouch. Its eye sockets were glowing with orange magic.

...She hadn't expected it to be _this_ big.

Being as silent as possible, Alphys started to back away. She needed to regroup with the dogs. It was too dangerous to handle on her own. The beast simply glared, not making a move. It probably wouldn't as long as she didn't do anything to alarm it.

Alphys heard one of her guards start howling out of nowhere. The beast's eye sockets turned pitch black.

_...Shit._

Alphys bolted before the beast could react right away.

"What the _hell_ were those idiots thinking?!?" she yelled angrily. She had no time to stew over what the guards had done, however. The beast was in hot pursuit, knocking into trees and scattering snow everywhere as it tried to catch up with her.

Alphys covered her ears as the beast let out an thunderous roar.

***

Sans crossed his arms and frowned.

"...I can't think of anywhere else Papyrus would want to be!"

You took a bite out of a spider donut, which Muffet had offered to you a while earlier. It was remarkably sweet and sticky.

"Are you sure?"

Sans scoffed. "Of course I am! No one knows Papyrus as well as I do!"

His eye sockets widened.

"...Unless he was actually planning on going to...no, he wouldn't want to be there..."

You titled your head. "Huh?" 

Before Sans could answer, he was interrupted by a loud noise. You almost dropped your spider donut when it nearly deafened you. Once it was over, you could still hear the ringing in your ears.

"...What was that???"

You looked over at Sans to see if he was alright. His eye sockets were empty.

"...Sans?"

He didn't answer you. His expression was one of shock and a bit of...fear?

Moments later, he fell out of his chair. Sans managed to hear you call out his name before everything went black.


	4. Breaking The Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which five dogs and a lizard fight for their lives, and two skeletons start to remember something.
> 
> (this chapter is a bit longer than the others. So if it sounds like a bit of rambling, my bad lol)

Alphys skidded to a halt in front of the dogs. She could still hear the giant beast approaching.

"WHAT WERE YOU ALL THINKING?!? I TOLD YOU TO KEEP QUIET!!!"

"We're sorry, captain!" Dogamy said. "We thought you were in trouble!"

"We're in more danger right now!" Alphys pointed behind her. "That thing is going to show up at any minute, so you'd better get ready!!!"

The dogs pulled out their weapons as they turned to face the beast. They stood on either side of Alphys, who gritted her teeth and squeezed tightly on her axe's handle.

The large form of the creature was finally visible amidst the trees, with both eyes spewing orange magic. Once it came into the light, they could see that it was prowling slowly towards them, baring its sharp fangs. From the expression it was giving them, Alphys doubted that the beast would allow them to leave unscathed. She had to think of some sort of plan, otherwise she and the dogs could...

...No. She didn't want it to come to that. They would all find a way to subdue the creature, even if it seemed impossible. She leaned to the left and whispered something to Lesser Dog, who replied with a nod and a small yip. He took a step in front of Alphys, holding his knives up as he watched the beast intently. It snarled angrily, keeping track of Lesser Dog's movements with its burning gaze.

Suddenly, a white spear flew from behind the creature. It roared as the weapon slashed at one of its legs. All it left was a small scratch, but it was enough for the beast to lose its temper. It swiveled its body around surprisingly fast for its size and slashed with its claws in the direction from where it was attacked. Doggo, who had been the one that threw it, had already moved out of the way before the hit landed. The beast howled in a mix of agony and rage as Greater Dog struck another one of its legs with an axe. Dogamy and Dogaressa guarded the others from each side with their swords and shields unsheathed.

Try as they might, their attacks had little effect on the monster. All it seemed to do was infuriate the beast more than it already was. It hissed and snapped at Alphys and the guards as they attempted to chip away at some of its health.

None of them expected the next attack. The creature's bottom jaw split in half as it opened wide. Alphys could make out a small light that was forming inside its mouth. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was preparing to shoot something at them.

Her single eye widened. "Fall back! FALL BACK!!!"

The other dogs bolted for the trees. Alphys tackled Lesser Dog onto the ground, who had simply been staring at the beast in shock and awe. She pressed her body to the ground as much as she could.

The bright light filled the beast's mouth, then everything went white.

***

_"...Sans...!"_

_"...Wake up!"_

"SANS!!!"

The sound of a tiny voice screaming and arms shaking his body jostled him awake. Sans opened his eye sockets sluggishly. They were empty for a moment, until faint pinpricks of light began to form.

"Sans!!!" a small body pressed itself against his own and hugged him tightly. He looked down and immediately recognized the messy mop of hair that belonged to Chara. Their eyes were squeezed shut as a few tears fell from them.

"Chara...?" he blinked, stuggling to remove the haziness from his line of vision.

"...What happened?"

"You passed out."

Sans turned his head to see Muffet kneeling beside Chara. She seemed to be concerned, but said nothing else to him.

He patted the small child's head. "...I'm okay, Chara! Please don't cry."

"You scared me!" they exclaimed, smacking the side of his face gently. "Who faints just like that?!? I thought that you wouldn't wake up..."

Sans' grin turned into more of a grimace. "...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you..."

Chara shook her head. "What matters to me is that you're fine now. But still..."

They bit their lip, looking at the small skeleton anxiously.

"...You fainted after you heard that weird noise. Why? What did it _do_ to you?"

Sans frowned, having difficulty recalling what Chara was talking about. Once it finally clicked in his mind again, he felt a small wave of nausea.

He'd rememered something. That noise had triggered a memory that seemed foreign to him, and yet...he felt a sense of familiarity with it. How was it possible for him to not recognize his own memory? His retention of certain details and events had always been rather sharp. Usually the forgetful one was Papyrus.

_Papyrus..._

"SANS."

He blinked, looking over at Chara.

"...You look sick. Are you okay?"

Sans nodded quickly. "I'll be alright! But I...." he twiddled his fingers nervously with a strained expression, staring at the floor.

"I..."

Muffet placed a hand on his shoulder. She was prepared to catch him in case he fainted again. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Sans looked up at Muffet and Chara.

"...I have to find the source of that noise."

***

Alphys took a deep breath, then sat back up. Lesser Dog pulled his snout out of the snow, snorting and coughing a little as he wiped it off of his face. She _had_ tackled him pretty hard, right on his face.

She turned her head in the beast's direction, whose mouth was still wide open as it breathed in and out shakily. Scorch marks from the impact of the blast were right in front of it, creating a large indent in the ground. If she'd lifted herself up even a _little_ during the attack, the beam could've ripped her head clean off. She shuddered at the thought.

Alphys rose from the ground, glaring at the beast with renewed anger.

"Already getting tired, huh?" she snarled. "Well , I'm not letting you go that easily!"

The dogs came out from behind the trees and approached her. Alphys lifted then aimed her axe at the creature, sneering.

"Get ready, punk! We're not showing you any mercy!!!"

***

Sans was already a few feet further ahead than you, and you were struggling to keep up. Once he'd regained his strength and reassured Muffet that he was fine and could walk on his own, he left the cafe running and uttered a quiet 'Goodbye, and thank you' to the spider monster. Whether she heard him or not was a mystery, but you would worry about that later.

"Sans!!!" you yelled. "Where are you going?!?"

He didn't answer, but slowed down just enough for you to catch up. Once you got a good look at him, you could see that he was distressed about something. Even his permanent grin couldn't mask the fact that he was bothered by it.

...Whatever _it_ was.

"Everything is fine, Chara!" he smiled a little when he glanced at you, but you knew that smile was fake. You didn't like seeing him that way. Fake smiles were only a thing that you could do, not him.

He was making you worry. But you were too afraid to point it out.

All you wanted was for him to tell you what was happening. Was that really too much to ask?

Sans began to slow down, then motioned for you to stop behind him. You complied and grabbed the hand that he was holding up. He didn't seem to mind, so he lowered it for you.

You peered past him and up ahead. You realized that you were inches away from entering Snowdin's forest.

"Sans, why are we here?"

He didn't answer. Sans' eye sockets were fixated on the dark path beneath the thick trees. Without light or some sort of guide, one could easily get lost in there. And yet, he stared at it in a way that someone who knew the ins and outs would. Someone who was determined to go inside, no matter what he could run into.

You tugged at his arm forcefully. He blinked, then looked down at you.

 _"Please."_ you clung to his hand like your life depended on it.

"...Please, just tell me what's going on. Why are we in Snowdin? Why did you leave the cafe? How do you even know where you're going??? We only heard that sound once...."

Sans rubbed his head. He stared at the ground with a guilty expression.

"...I'm sorry. I know I already apologized, but I..."

Sans shifted nervously, his boots kicking up some snow.

"...Have you ever remembered something that doesn't feel like it's true?"

You shook your head, which made Sans sigh in disappointment.

"...It's alright. I didn't expect you to." he rubbed his head.

"...But if my suspicions are correct, and what I remembered is real..."

He turned his head towards the forest.

"...My brother might be in a _very_ uncomfortable situation."

***

_Pain. All he felt was **pain.**_

_At first, he welcomed it. It was almost relieving to feel something for the first time in years. No...months? Weeks? Days?_

_He really didn't care anymore. At least, until the pain started._

_It started off as a strange feeling. Something that just felt **off** and **unusual.** It was so faint that he hardly regarded it as an issue, however._

_He quickly realized that even after all the resets, all of the things he'd been forced to relive more times than he could count because of that **damn cat...** the feeling wouldn't go away. It stuck to his bones, his very being, like some kind of uncomfortable sting. He would sometimes wake up with every inch of his body buzzing painfully from the inside out. Unfortunately, he had always been good at hiding any of his discomfort. Sans never suspected a thing._

_...Until yesterday, when his brother entered his room._

_The pain had been especially bad that day, and it showed. All Sans did was take a few steps towards him before he looked at him with concern._

_"Err...brother?"_

_He rubbed the exhaustion from his eye sockets to the best of his ability, which wasn't much._

_"...Yeah, bro?"_

_Sans tapped his left eye socket on the side._

_He looked around until his eyes fell on a broken bottle of beer on the ground. The shards of glass were complete enough for him to make out his own reflection. His left eye socket was glowing orange. He hadn't even commanded it to do so, so how...?_

_...Wait, when did he grab a beer bottle? He couldn't remember going out for one the other night, and Sans never bought any..._

_...Whatever. **Whatever.** He was a bit relieved to go back to apathy for a few seconds since this new feeling of pain was becoming increasingly unnerving._

_"Did you have another nightmare?" Sans asked._

_He blinked hard, silently ordering his eye to turn off. No luck._

_....Great. Even his own magic was against him now._

_"...M'fine, bro. Guess my magic is acting up today." he opened his eyes and looked at Sans, giving him a reassuring smile._

_Sans wasn't having it. He crossed his arms and pouted in disapproval._

_"Papyrus, we talked about this. We both agreed to be honest when something was wrong, not pretend that everything is fine. And as your older brother, you KNOW that I worry a lot!"_

_He groaned. He knew that Sans meant well, but he was not in the mood to talk about his problem._

_...Even he didn't understand what was going on, either. He just wanted to be left alone._

_"...Sans, can we just talk about this when I'm out of bed and more... **awake?"**_

_Sans crossed his arms. "...You promise to tell me what's going on with you?"_

_He sat up and raised his hand._

_"Scout's honor."_

_"...Alright. I'll leave you be for now." Sans breathed out, making a whistling sound as the air passed through his teeth. He tended to make that noise when he was annoyed by something. Papyrus always found it a little funny when it happened. It gave his brother a slightly goofier feature besides the outfit he refused to take off. Not that it was a BAD outfit. In fact, it was Papyrus who helped him make it in the first place._

_There were plenty of things that Papyrus was okay at doing. When he actually applied himself, of course._

_A single thought crossed his mind. "...Hey, Sans."_

_"Yes, brother?"_

_"How's the kid been doing?"_

_Sans smiled and shook his head. "Chara is fine. They've been asleep almost as long as you. They told me that it is a necessity for humans to sleep at least eight hours though, so they actually have an excuse."_

_"Aw **coma,** bro. You **snore** that I need my **beauty sleep."**_

_Sans's eyes bulged out. Papyrus could almost see an invisible vein pop out of his short brother's head._

_"NO! I don't want to hear any more puns! Yours are terrible! Even Chara uses them now!"_

_"But sleeping puns are the **rest!"**_ Papyrus laughed as Sans fumed and stomped his foot.

_"That's it! I'm leaving!"_

_Papyrus kept laughing even after Sans stormed out of the room. He knew that his brother only appreciated clever jokes and puns, not the lazy or poorly constructed kind. Papyrus didn't really care. As long as it made him laugh, it wouldn't bug him if it was told in the wrong order._

_Once he settled down, he laid back onto the bed matress. He sighed, touching his eye socket that didn't seem to turn off. It was almost as if his magic was working on its own. That thought alone only made him worry more._

_"Just gotta concentrate...." he squeezed his eye sockets shut._

_"You can do this."_

_He gasped when a sudden spike of energy surged through his body. And suddenly, he wasn't in his room anymore. He found himself floating around in a dark place for a few seconds, then he reappeared in Waterfall. He landed face first into a small puddle._

_**"...Ugh,"** he gurgled. Papyrus pushed himself up with his arms and spat out some water and filth that managed to enter his mouth. It seemed like the fall was all he needed for his magic to turn off on its own (thankfully)._

_"...What is going on...?"_

_He sat upright on the ground, then looked up at the sky._

_...Pitch black, as always._

**~~I̴̧̎t̷̩̾ ̶̪͂l̷͎͐o̴̲͑o̷͔̕k̵̼̄s̵̡̈́ ̴͔̀f̸͇̆a̶̰̒m̵̢̅i̵̞͘ĺ̵͜ì̷͍ă̴̹ŗ̷̑,̸̥̃ ̵̭́d̵̨͠o̸̜̿e̸̗̓ś̴̨ ̴̦͒ī̸̯t̷̥͌ ̸̐ͅn̷̓ͅỏ̵̗t̵͖̕?̶̺̈́"~~ **

_Papyrus flinched. Was that...a voice just now? In his **head?**_

_"Jeez...I'd better lay off the cigs and drinks for a while." he rubbed his forehead._

**~~"̶Y̸o̵u̸ ̵a̷l̶w̶a̷y̶s̸ ̶d̷i̶d̷ ̴l̸i̵k̶e̶ ̵t̵o̷ ̶d̴r̵i̸n̵k̸ ̶y̷o̷u̸r̷ ̷t̷r̴o̴u̷b̶l̶e̶s̴ ̷a̴w̵a̵y̴.̷ ̷H̵o̷w̷ ̴s̵a̷d̸.̸"̷~~ **

_"The hell?!?" Papyrus shot up from the ground, looking around nervously. The voice seemed to be closer this time, and far less distorted. How was that even possible?_

_...Was someone playing a trick on him?_

**~~"̷I̵f̷ ̵i̸t̸ ̸w̸e̴r̴e̸ ̴a̴ ̶t̵r̶i̷c̴k̸,̶ ̷i̵t̴ ̷w̷o̸u̷l̸d̵ ̸m̵a̸k̴e̵ ̶y̷o̷u̷ ̴l̴a̴u̴g̶h̵.̶ ̴I̴t̸ ̵w̶o̵u̸l̵d̶n̸'̵t̶ ̷b̵e̶ ̵r̷e̴a̶l̵.̸ ̵B̶u̷t̴ ̶I̸ ̵c̵a̴n̵ ̶a̷s̵s̶u̵r̸e̵ ̷y̵o̷u̵.̶.̶.̶"̵~~ **

**~~"̴.̶.̷.̵I̴ ̶a̵m̷ ̵v̴e̴r̵y̸ ̶m̸u̷c̷h̴ ̶h̸e̸r̶e̵,̷ ̷a̸n̴d̵ ̷n̷o̴b̴o̸d̷y̵'̸s̷ ̴l̷a̵u̵g̶h̶i̶n̷g̶.̷"̷~~ **

_Papyrus bit back a scream as a horrible ringing noise pierced through his skull. He clutched his head and his legs wobbled, but he refused to fall over._

_"Damn it," he hissed. "I need to get out of here...!"_

_Papyrus' magic flickered to life in his left eye socket as he attempted to teleport. He immediately regretted it. Papyrus yelped as his magic burst out of his eye instead of coming out fluidly. His magic had spiked a second time, cancelling out his command and only opportunity to escape._

~~**"̴͇̀L̶̖̈e̴̺͑a̶̚͜v̷̯̋i̶̤͠n̷͙̈́g̴̜͠ ̸̓͜ș̷̈õ̴̩ ̴̙͠s̶̺̉õ̴̗o̵̪̓n̷̙͝?̴̹̀"̵̮̿** ~~

_"SHUT UP!" Papyrus shouted angrily. "Who the hell ARE you?!?"_

_The voice was quiet for a few minutes. When it finally spoke, it ignored his question entirely._

**~~"̵.̸.̶.̶L̶e̸t̴'̷s̵ ̷p̸l̵a̵y̴ ̴a̶ ̴l̵i̶t̵t̵l̸e̵ ̸g̶a̴m̷e̴,̸ ̵P̷a̶p̷y̴r̶u̴s̷.̷"̸~~ **

***

"Keep your distance! Don't attack it head-on!"

Alphys dodged another swipe of the creature's claw, which ended up landing on an innocent tree. The wood was cut so deeply that the tree snapped right in half. The top half fell over and make the ground shake.

Her eyes widened when she heard a small whine. She turned her head towards the tree and saw Dogamy and Dogaressa. Dogaressa's leg was caught under the weight of the tree, which Dogamy was frantically chopping away at with his sword. A _sword,_ which would obviously not work as well as an axe. He showed no signs of stopping until Dogaressa was freed either way. 

Alphys wasn't the only one who noticed. The beast seemed to have directed its attention to the dogs instead of her.

 _...It probably sees them as easy prey._ She was both disgusted and infuriated by the thought.

"HEY! _I'M_ THE ONE YOU WANT!!!" She grabbed a moderately-sized boulder and chucked it at the creature. The boulder hit one of its legs, making it roar in frustration as it turned back towards Alphys.

"That's right! Come at me!!!" She turned and started to run. The beast followed in hot pursuit, ramming into more trees and rocks that it hardly seemed to notice. The dogs watched in horror as their captain disappeared into the deepest parts of the forest, where no one could be heard or seen.

***

Sans scanned the area where he'd entered, trying to listen for the same noise. He had to be close by. Everyone else had heard the sound come from the forest. It couldn't have been just him.

"Sans!" Chara tugged at his arm. He turned towards Chara, who was biting their lip nervously. They pointed at something once they'd gotten Sans' attention. He followed the direction of their hand until he saw something that was rather alarming.

Large footprints were scattered across the snow. They were twice as large as Chara and Sans put together. Scratch marks covered most of the trees, as if whatever did this was either fighting something else or having a tantrum. Sans gulped, wondering just how dangerous of a situation he was getting himself into.

But he had to be brave. He had to be! For Chara. For Papyrus.

...He _really_ hoped that his brother was alright.

"How close do you think we are to...whatever this is?" Chara asked. They released Sans' hand and walked towards one of trees. Chara ran their hand across the scratches, then pulled away.

"We must be very close. Those marks look new." Sans closed his hands into fists.

"...We have to hurry."

***

_Just like that, everything went wrong._

_Whoever this voice was, they had somehow managed to make his magic unstable. He could barely control it at all. When he did, it felt...disconnected. His magic was right at his fingertips, and yet...it felt like it wasn't **his** anymore. It didn't help that it occasionally worked on its own, either._

_When he wasn't thinking about how volatile his magic was, he was thinking about the pain coursing through his bones. It had increased tenfold since he'd woken up, making his head throb whenever he exerted himself too much. Even walking was a hassle at this point. His legs were a lot more shaky than before, along with the rest of his body._

_He didn't dare to speak with anyone or go too far into town. He was already on edge with a bodiless voice saying things to him. If his magic decided to lash out on its own, he didn't know if he could stop it._

_He did try to go to Muffet's and tell her what was wrong, but he backed out of it at the last minute._

**_"̡̛À͞ ͡c͝o͜ward̛ ̷͘tǫ̵̕ ̴t͏͝͡h̵҉e ̧͡v̧ery̷͢ ͡͠e̴n̵d̕. ͞Pa̸͜t̀h͟͟e̷̴t̡͟i̛c̡̢͘.̧"̸_ **

_Papyrus refused to answer this time. He found that ignoring the voice's presence rather than exhausting himself by arguing with it was much easier. All it seemed to do was voice his own thoughts. Mainly his insecurities and tendency to think badly about himself._

_The fact that it could hear his thoughts at all only made the situation more uncomfortable._

_It wasn't until he passed by the river in Waterfall and looked at his own reflection that he realized something was **very** wrong._

_His skull had a few freakish bumps and unnatural ridges that weren't there before. A few of his teeth, mainly the ones on either side of his jaws had gotten sharper. He looked down at his hands and noticed that they were longer. He swore he could feel something growing where his tailbone was, but he didn't want to think about what that could be._

_What he wanted more than ANYTHING was a painless, well-deserved nap._

**~~"Y҉ou̵'v͡e̡ b͠e͝e͠n̶ a̕s͟l̡e̢ep fǫr f̕a̢r̷ t̷oo l̵ong, P̛áṕy̴ru̷s."~~ **

_Papyrus flinched. He sighed wearily. At least it wasn't saying what he was thinking anymore._

_"....Oh yeah?" he muttered. "And what do you mean by that, whoever the **hell** you are?"_

_The voice made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh._

**~~"O̴h̵,́ yo͠u'l̶l kno҉w s͠oo͡n͏ éno̵ugh͘.̶"~~ **

**~~"De̡t͝eŕm̛inat̷io̶n dơes̕ wo̵n̶der̀s͏ f̡o̸r͏ ou͠r k̴in͘d̨, doesn'͡t it̨?͝"̧~~ **

_Papyrus tensed up. "...What do you know about-"_

**~~"̢I̕ k͟n͜o͠w pl͢e̷n͠t̕y,"̛~~** _the voice interrupted._ **~~"Af̨te͠r a̷ll,͏ it w̸as͜ I̸ w̧h̕o͟ fi̵rśt ţe̷s͟t͝ed it òn a few...s̛ub͜j̀écts."͝~~**

_"You WHAT?" Papyrus couldn't believe what he was hearing. The only person that had ever tried to use determination on monsters was Undyne, and that didn't end well. He'd seen it firsthand. It was impossible for anyone else to get their hands on the stuff. Both Undyne and the Queen herself made sure of it. So why would this invisible stranger claim something so ridiculous?_

_Unless...it was telling the truth? Undyne did say she had found a few stray files addressing the idea of using determination. It was the basis of all her research, and yet..._

_...She never did tell anyone where the files had come from._

**~~"́So̵ y̶o͢u͝'re̢ fin̷a͢lly con͞ne͢cti͜ng̵ t͞he dots҉.̵ G̕oo͢d. You a̕r̀en͝'̢t as co̧mplét̀e̶ly cl͡uel̀ess̨ as̸ I thought y̡ǫu wo͡u͘lḑ be̛."̧~~ **

_Papyrus grunted. "This doesn't prove anything. You have nothing to show for me to believe you."_

**~~"̶.̧..W̸r̵o͝n͢g͘ aga̕in͘."~~ **

_Papyrus felt another wave of nausea hit him. He doubled over, gagging and retching as excess magic came out of him and splattered onto the rocky ground. His body felt like it was on fire. And even without any internal organs, it felt like he was being squeezed from the inside._

**~~"H͞ave̸n̨'t̷ you͘ rea҉l͡íz̕ed i͜t̀ y̷e̛t?͘"~~ **

_He fell to his knees, breathing in shakily. He couldn't stop trembling, and the ringing in his head was becoming unbearable._

**~~"..̧..͏Y͞oú ARE m̨y p̧r͡o̢of."~~ **

***

Alphys had reached a dead end.

She turned around just in time to see the creature taking slow steps towards her. Its bottom jaw had split open again, meaning that it was planning to shoot one of its lazers again.

She tightened her grip on her axe, taking a step forward in defiance.

"...Not THIS time."

***

"We must be close! I know that my brother is here!" Sans shouted. He decided to hold Chara's hand so they wouldn't get left behind. They still stumbled to keep up since their legs couldn't move nearly as fast as his.

"How do you know for sure?" Chara winced as they accidentally stumbled over another rock, but they refused to slow down for even a moment.

Sans looked up at the sky, feeling a bit hesitant. How was he supposed to answer? He wasn't quite sure why he knew, either. So, he gave them the best reply he could muster.

"...I can feel it in my bones!"

***

_"...Why...?"_

_His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was all he could do._

_Everything hurt. Living hurt. All of this was pure **agony.**_

_"Why me...? What's...happening to me...?"_

_The voice didn't answer. He wasn't really expecting it to. All it did was leave him with more questions than answers. He felt his eyelids beginning to droop from exhaustion. Any pain he was feeling was slightly numbed by it, but he was still terrified. He felt some parts of his body shifting and contorting in directions they weren't meant to go. All of that, along with a growing sense of dread, was too much for him to handle. Was this it? Was he going to die for good?_

_...He was so damn tired that he didn't even care._

**~~"T̴h̕i͡s is a͝l͡l͡ ju͘s͠t ͟a ̷ba͢d dŕe̢a̶m͝....͢"̷~~ **

_Papyrus collapsed on the ground. If he did fall asleep, it would be better than this. The pain would finally stop._

_....At least Sans wouldn't have to worry about him anymore._

_"....Sans...."_

_The world faded around him as he succumbed to the peace and quiet of slumber._

***

Alphys charged at the beast, shouting a battle cry as she leaped high into the air.

All she had to do was aim for the soul. The beast would be finished if she struck hard enough.

***

"What is that?!?"

Once you and Sans had reached the right place, you really weren't expecting to see something so unusual.

There was gigantic monster made entirely out of bones, glaring at a much tinier monster that had jumped impossibly high into the air. You recognized the smaller monster as Alphys, the one person you'd been trying to avoid this whole time. She looked furious as she flew up into the air. It felt like the whole situation was happening in slow motion; Alphys ready to strike at the beast's chest while it snarled at her, splitting its own jaw in half. You could see the creature's soul glowing brightly inside of its ribcage.

You felt Sans let go of your hand. He ran right past you, looking up at Alphys and the strange monster in horror. He extended his hand forward.

"STOP!!!"

***

**~~".͠..̢A͠ņd ́y̸o͝u͏'r̡e ̶n͢e̡v̀er̨ w ̡a̕ ḱ ́i͝ ņ g ͏ u p͡.̢"̴~~ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I can get through the next part faster! Sorry for the delay.


	5. Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Sans is sparing you.
> 
> *Will you ACT or FIGHT?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would've updated this sooner but well, spring break happened! I was away on vacation till Saturday, and I had to sort out my thoughts before writing this part.
> 
> This chapter is a little bit shorter than the others. Actually, a LOT shorter.
> 
> There's just not much to say. Yet. ;)

_"Sans, I'm scared!"_

_"I don't wanna hurt anyone...."_

_"I wanna be strong....like you!"_

_. . . . ._

You watched in horror as Sans jumped as high as he could....and grabbed Alphys before she successfully struck the beast. The two of them spiraled downwards and hit the ground. Snow flew everywhere and blinded you temporarily. Once you wiped the snow away from your face, you looked at what was going on before you.

"Sans!"

Sans stood up shakily and began staggering forward. He suddenly felt something tugging at his leg. He didn't need to guess who it was.

"Damn it, Sans...."

He turned his head to Alphys, who was glaring up at him with clenched teeth.

"You're not. _Doing this_. You're staying right here until I FINISH THIS."

Sans shook his head and pulled away from her grip.

"...I'm sorry, Alphys."

He looked back at the beast, who was glowering at the pair of smaller monsters.

"...But I can't let you hurt him."

 _"...'Him'?"_ Alphys stared at Sans in confusion. She didn't get an answer as he started walking towards the creature again.

"Sans, don't!" Alphys shot up from the ground and went after him. Her path was blocked by an unfamiliar face.

She sneered in disgust. _"YOU!"_

***

You were used to that. Being looked down upon with hatred....

...But this time, you wouldn't run away. You refused to cower in fear. Now that you had people who cared about you, you would do everything in your power to defend them. No matter how reckless his actions appeared to be, you trusted Sans. You knew he was doing this for a reason.

_...He won't die. He promised we would be a family._

You cleared your throat and opened your mouth to speak.

"...Believe in him."

Alphys looked at you with a perplexed expression.

"...What?"

 _"Believe in him,"_ you repeated. "He's your friend, and he's my friend. If I can trust him enough to let him get close to that monster, you should too."

"..." Alphys stared blankly at you. She was at a loss for words, but stood her ground and moved no further. Despite her clear dislike for humans, it seemed like she was listening to you.

"...Thank you."

You turned around to see Sans getting dangerously close to the beast. It gazed at him warily, keeping a close eye on any of the skeleton's movements. Sans looked cool and collected, at least on the outside.

On the inside, he felt so nervous that he could puke. But there was no room for error or hesitation. He needed to be strong.

...His little brother needed him _now,_ more than ever.

"...Papyrus?"

The beast growled, taking a few steps forward.

"...The _hell? _" Alphys murmured. "No, there's no way that could be...."__

Sans raised his hands up. "I have no weapons. I'm not going to attack you. Please, just try to stay calm."

The beast still looked tense, but it seemed slightly less eager to pounce on the smaller monster. Its eyes never moved away from Sans for even a moment.

"Easy...." Sans got closer and closer, until he was right in front of its face. The creature had lowered it to get a better look at him.

No one had noticed that the lights in the beast's eyes were pure white.

"...Can I..?" Sans reached forward with his hand. The beast blinked then snorted, shaking its head as it snapped out of some sort of trance. It snarled angrily at Sans and raised its tail.

"Wait, please!" Sans' voice wavered. "Please, I....I just wanted to...."

Sans dropped his hand and lowered his head.

"...I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not noticing sooner that something was wrong. I'm sorry for constantly nagging you. I-I never mean it when I call you a lazybones....I just...want you to try a little harder...."

Sans sniffed. A few tears fell from his eye sockets and hit the snow with a light _crunch._

_"...You must think I'm a horrible brother...don't you...?"_

You looked at Sans in shock. You'd never heard his voice sound so...hollow before. Why would he say something like that about himself? It wasn't _true._ So why...?

The creature seemed to pick up on Sans' distress as well. It wondered if maybe it did something wrong.

...Wait. Since when did it worry about something like that? It had a terrible feeling in its chest all of a sudden. One that it could only pinpoint as...

***

_...Guilt._

_....It wouldn't be able to feel those things unless...it wasn't an 'it' at all._

_...No. 'It' was a **He.**_

_**He** was a sentient being with feelings. He cared about things. He cared about..._

_...His **brother.** He cared about his brother a lot._

_This form....he wasn't supposed to be this way._

_....He needed to change BACK._

***

"Sans...?"

You approached your friend slowly, hoping that the creature wouldn't be alarmed by you. Surprisingly enough, it didn't seem to notice. You focused on the beast a little more.

...Its eye sockets were empty.

You would have to worry about that later. Right now, you needed to get to Sans. Sans, who had gradually turned into a sobbing mess. You still didn't understand why he was so upset, but you wanted to comfort him. Once you were close enough, you hugged him by the waist as tightly as you could.

"Please don't cry, Sans." You felt your eyes tingling as your vision blurred with tears.

"You're not a bad brother. You're the best person I've ever met. And Papyrus too..."

Sans didn't answer, but he hugged you back. You were okay with that.

After a few minutes, you heard Sans cry out. You looked up and saw him staring forward in stunned silence. You spun your head around to see what had startled him.

...It was Papyrus, lying unconscious in the snow.


	6. A Moment of Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Take a deep breath.
> 
> *It's over. For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I'll try not to make you guys wait for that long again. ^-^;

Neither you or Sans said a word as Alphys heaved Papyrus onto her shoulders. His long arms dangled precariously and his legs dragged across the snowy path. Her eyes were fixed forward, her mouth tight-lipped. She did not speak to Sans or (especially) you. You wondered why she was so angry, but it wasn't hard to figure out. It was as much of a surprise to you when Papyrus came back the way he did.

Sans didn't seem quite as shocked about all of this. Maybe that was the source of Alphys' frustration. You wondered why you didn't feel the same way, since Sans was your friend too. It only left you with a more troubling question in your mind.

...Why would _Sans,_ of all people, hide the fact that his brother could turn into... _that?_ Just how much was he hiding from everyone?

"Alright. I've had enough of this."

Alphys stopped and laid Papyrus on the side of tree. The movement made him twitch just a little.

"Please, be careful with him!" Sans pleaded. "Why are we stopping?"

Alphys turned her head sharply towards Sans.

"You know EXACTLY why I'm stopping. You're going to tell me what the hell just happened. Right. Now."

Sans rubbed his arm and winced. "...I can't."

"You can't or you _won't?"_ Alphys crossed her arms.

"I CAN'T!!!" Sans exclaimed. He lifted a hand up to his mouth in shock, then sighed.

"...I can't explain what happened. I'm not really sure what's going on with him, either...I just....remembered."

Alphys raised an eyebrow.

"...What do you mean?"

Sans looked down, twiddling his fingers nervously.

"...It's all in fragments, but..."

"...I remember that I saw him change before."

***

_"Brother!"_

_The tiny creature that was Papyrus only moments ago hissed at him, backing away. Sans took a few steps forward, stumbling on a pair of pants that were far too big on him._

_It was all they could find at the dump._

_"Papyrus, it's me! Sans!" the tiny skeleton reached out towards him. "Don't you know who I-"_

_Papyrus' jaws snapped shut as Sans pulled away. He'd nearly bitten him!_

_"...I guess I'll take that as a no."_

_Sans sat down in the snow. The small creature eyed him warily, but didn't run away._

_Sans sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm your BROTHER."_

_"...Do you still know what that means?"_

_The tiny creature tilted its head, seemingly confused by what he was saying. Sans' grin dropped a little more._

_"...Oh. But...that's okay. I'll wait here until you're feeling better." Sans forced a smile, then hid it under his arms as he drew up his knees. It turned into more of a grimace._

_"...I don't get it....how could you turn into a ~~gaster blaster?"~~_

_Sans suddenly clutched at his throat._

_"...What....?"_

_Sans attempted to say the words again._

_~~"Gaster blaster. Gaster...blaster. Gaster blaster!!!!"~~ _

_Sans winced in pain as his throat began to ache from the effort. There was something physically (or mentally?) preventing him from saying it._

_All that came out was silence whenever he tried._

_"...Why...?" Sans buried his face into his baggy pants._

_"Why can't I say those words...?"_

***

"...He was very little when he changed the first time. I was worried he was going to stay that way, but the next morning I found him back to his old self."

Alphys rubbed her head. "...Okay, but that still doesn't explain how this happened to Papyrus in the first place."

"I know it doesn't." Sans winced. "...But that's all I remember, I swear."

Alphys' lips curved.

"...Fine. I trust you. But if you have anything else to say that I should know, you'd better say it now."

There was silence for a a few minutes. Sans slowly shook his head.

Alphys sighed and walked over to the tree. She lifted Papyrus up onto her shoulders again and said nothing until they reached the house. She handed him over to Sans and left before he could say anything else.

She never bothered to look at you, not even once. Maybe that was a good thing?

"...I'm sorry."

You blinked and looked over at Sans, surprised at his sudden break of silence.

"I should've told you about this. It hasn't happened in so long that, for a while...I thought that maybe I was remembering something that didn't happen."

"...Heh. For our first day as official siblings, I did a pretty lousy job."

You shook your head and patted his arm, smiling up at him.

"...I didn't expect you to tell me everything about you guys right away. I'm not mad at you."

Sans smiled back at you a little, then sighed.

"...I suppose this means that I owe Alphys a big apology. But, first things first!" he said as he approached the door.

"I need to put my lazy brother back in bed! Which I'm not particularly happy about, but he needs it!"

You stifled a laugh and opened the door for Sans. He stepped inside and immediately bolted for the stairs. It made you wonder how carrying Papyrus wasn't tiring him out.

But then again, he was The Magnificent Sans. Was there anything he couldn't do?

_*He can't tell the truth, that's for sure._

You rubbed your head in confusion from hearing a thought that wasn't yours. It had spoken up more than once, so you couldn't help but wonder why.

Moments later, you didn't care much for it anymore.


	7. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *You decide to tell Papyrus the truth about what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many notes already! Thanks for bearing with me!

_"Why won't you tell me what's going on...?"_

_"That man...did HE do this to you?!?"_

_"You can't go! He'll hurt you!"_

**_...._ **

**_...I WARNED YOU._ **

Papyrus' eye sockets opened a little. All of his bones ached, and his head felt like it was going to explode. And yet...he felt quite comfortable.

He looked around without moving his head and realized that he was in his room. It was still a mess, meaning that Sans hadn't decided to clean it like he always did. Was it because he was busy, or...was he more worried about something else?

Papyrus heard his door open. When he turned his head, he saw the small human child they'd let into their home staring back. Chara's eyes widened, as if they were surprised to see him awake. Eventually, their eyes filled with tears as they approached him slowly.

"...Hey, kiddo." Papyrus smiled at them.

With that, Chara began to cry. They ran towards Papyrus and hugged him tightly.

"Whoa, calm down. You seem pretty happy to see me."

Chara sniffed and rubbed their nose. "Y-you...were gone for a while. Me and Sans were really worried. I-I thought that we'd never find you again..."

Papyrus shushed the child and patted their head.

"Hey, hey...I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, ok?"

"...I'm sorry for not believing in you...I...I wish I could've done more..." Chara hiccuped.

Papyrus sighed and looked down at Chara. They stared back up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.

"...Kid. Do you think you could tell me what happened? I've been trying to remember where I went, but it all keeps going blank in my head. So...I'd appreciate it if you could remind me, or at least give me some sort of clue."

Chara looked down and twiddled their fingers nervously.

"...I-I don't...know if it was my fault that all of this happened. But..."

"...We think that you turned into a monster."

***

Even after watching dozens of episodes Mew Mew Kissy Cutie till morning, not even seeing the true villain of the show scared her nearly as much as someone slamming their fist on her front door. If it were possible, Undyne's soul would've leapt out of her body out of fear. Thankfully, it did not.

_"Open up, Undyne!!!"_

She could recognize that gruff voice anywhere. Undyne blushed a bit in embarrasment as she straightened her glasses and reached the front door. She unlocked it quickly and watched Alphys march angrily through her door, let out a yell and kick her chair. Fortunately, it didn't fly across the room this time.

"DAMN IT ALL!!!" Alphys slammed her hand on Undyne's desk and lowered her head.

Undyne rubbed her arm anxiously. She approached the small yellow reptile and placed her hand on Alphys' shoulder.

"...You ok?"

Alphys groaned and rubbed her snout. "...No. I've had a REALLY long day."

"I can tell." Undyne sat down at her desk and crossed her legs, trying to look less nervous than she already was.

"...Do you...wanna talk abou-"

"It's SANS and his weird brother, Dyne. SOMETHING IS UP."

Undyne sat back in her chair a little. "Ookay. I guess we're talking about it."

"Sans' BROTHER is the cause of all of those reports! He was the one that snuck into people's houses, occasionally stole their food and stuff, and almost KILLED a few of my guards!!!"

"....Oh my gosh..." Undyne placed a hand on her mouth. Her fins lowered.

"B-but _how?_ In all of the recordings I took throughout the Underground, the source of all this bizarre activity was some sort of giant monster!"

Alphys snorted. "That's just it. Sans' brother is a SHAPESHIFTER. He can turn into this freakish ten-foot bone monster in seconds!!! I _saw_ him change back into the guy we ACTUALLY RECOGNIZE!!!"

Undyne placed a hand on her head. "That's...a bit hard to believe. We haven't seen monsters that can shapeshift since...well, forever! Are you _sure?"_

"Do you really think I would lie to you about this?! I'm serious, Undyne!"

Undyne raised her hands. "Alright, alright. I believe you. But...is Sans okay? Did he know about all of this?"

Alphys shrugged. "I'm not sure. One moment, he seemed pretty sure that it was his brother. But the next, he told me that he barely remembers when it happened the first time."

"...Th-there was a _first time?"_

"Apparently!" Alphys huffed and shook her head.

The two of them were quiet for a while. It took Undyne a few minutes to finally take in the gravity of the situation and say something.

"Maybe...you should go talk to them again. Maybe Sans was just uncomfortable with telling you everything that was going on. And since Papyrus is back, you can ask him some questions too."

Alphys scoffed. "I was already planning on doing that. But if they think I'm going to go easy on them for the mess Papyrus caused..."

"...I _won't."_

***

There was nothing but silence after you explained what happened. Sans had entered halfway through your story, adding any things that you missed. Papyrus' expression gradually shifted from calm to uncomfortable. And who could blame him? He had no memory of what happened and why he did those things.

He didn't deserve this. You were determined to help him feel better.

"Brother...it wasn't your fault." Sans placed his hand on Papyrus' shoulder.

"You simply weren't yourself."

Papyrus winced. "...And what if I turn into that... _thing_ again? What then? Am I just supposed to let it happen?"

Sans sighed.

"It won't happen again. We won't let it!"

Papyrus shook his head and looked down at his hands.

"...Yeah. Sure."

You couldn't help but worry about them both. You'd never seen the brothers this upset before. And yet...you were still curious.

You wanted to know what exactly they were hiding from you.

"...Sans? Papyrus?"

The two skeletons turned their heads towards you. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves at least a little.

"Could either of you tell me what's really going on here? Why does Papyrus turn into that giant monster? And Sans, why did you say you didn't remember before you saw it with your very own eyes?"

"...Is there something about you guys that I don't know about?"

The brothers glanced at each other uneasily. That didn't make you feel any better.

"...Kid...there's some things that we just can't talk about. Things that are better left unsaid." Papyrus looked down at his hands and flexed them.

Sans frowned for a moment, then looked at you with a reassuring smile on his face.

"But we still trust you! As our honorary sibling, you deserve to know everything!"

He rubbed his arm and sighed. "It's just...What we tell you may not be exactly right. Even now, when I try to recall parts of my childhood...it always feels like there are gaps. Like..something has been changed, or...it's missing entirely."

"...But I will never lie to you, Chara." Sans grinned. "I will tell you anything you'd like to know! Although I can't promise that what I say is reliable."

Papyrus winced. "...Yep. That's pretty much it."

You smile at them. "...It's okay. You guys don't even have to tell me anything now. I can wait."

Papyrus sighed and looked up at you, smiling.

"...Thanks, kid. You too, bro. I owe you guys for helping me."

Sans' expression brightened. "No need! You would've done the same for us!"

"...Right." Papyrus lied back down on his bed and closed his eyes.

"I'll be up soon. Gonna take another nap."

Sans rolled his eyes. "Like you ever do anything else!"

You giggled at the friendly banter between the brothers. It was nice to see them acting a bit more normal.

***

_*You can tell that HE'S lying, can't you?_

The voice was bothering your thoughts again as you tried to sleep. It was already midnight, you had had a long, fun day with the brothers, and you were exhausted. You decide to ignore it.

_*I doubt Sans would. He's too good for that. But Papyrus?_

_*It's almost unbearable to see him lying right in front of us. And even to his brother, who was worried sick about him._

The voice had a point, but you still refuse to listen.

_*I'll bet he knows things that even Sans doesn't know._

_*You should investigate. What harm could it do?_

You remind the voice that the brothers trusted you now. You weren't about to break that trust. 

__

__

_*What Sans and Papyrus don't know won't hurt them._

You stubbornly block out the voice as you choose to fall asleep. After about five minutes, you succeed.

But just before you do, you swear you could feel yourself getting out of bed.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be putting up more stuff from my Tumblr later, but this'll do for now.
> 
> ...Chara and the bros will be fine. Trust me. ;)


End file.
